Smith Cooper Corporate Finance, the specialist M&A division of Smith Cooper have been named finalists in no less than 5 categories of Insider East Midlands’ Dealmakers awards – with 3 specific nominations and listings for involvement in both Deals of the Year awards.

A highlight on the awards calendar, the prestigious Insider Dealmaker awards recognise and honour professional advisory and legal firms, funders and individuals, celebrating the very best in deal-making across the region.

Dan Bowtell, Corporate Finance Partner and Dealmaker of the Year nominee comments: “I am exceptionally proud of the team and the categories that we have been shortlisted in – it’s always an honour to be recognised in these awards. We have established a reputation for offering a leading and comprehensive range of Corporate Finance services for the mid-market, delivered by experienced deal-doers”

“In the last 12 months we have been fortunate enough to have acted for some innovative and diverse organisations, helping them achieve their aspirations. It is incredibly rewarding to assist clients complete transactions and fulfil their ambitions.”

John Farnsworth, Head of Corporate Finance at Smith Cooper comments “The whole team’s focus has always been on providing top quality service to clients in this incredibly competitive Midlands marketplace; this has built our brand and reputation and underpins our recognition in these 2020 Insider awards. Our activities in the East and West Midlands form just a part of the ever-strengthening M&A market outside of London and the South-East; our clients are increasingly located in that area – I think reflecting increasing recognition of the professional, innovative, highly tailored, value for money advice that the Midlands can offer.”

“Although UK deal numbers and values were down in 2019, perhaps inevitably given the unsettled UK political environment and the global geopolitical landscape, SCCF completed 36 transactions in the year to April 2020. Clearly, the Covid 19 pandemic will affect current year numbers to some extent, but maybe not as badly as some fear; this is not a financial crisis and so there is a lot of debt and equity finance available. Some unaffected sectors are doing well anyway, but we are now seeing activity and buyer appetite beginning to resume in all but the most impacted sectors.”

“Whatever, the recovery from this pandemic looks like, I’m confident that the Midlands will react innovatively, flexibly and positively to ensure it continues to assert its credentials as a credible, highly professional deal-making hotspot”

Business continues to flourish for Smith Cooper’s award-winning Corporate Finance team, who have concluded several notable deals within the last 12 months, including the sale of Corstophine & Wright, the strategic acquisition of Prime Principle, the software developer behind the pupil-tracking software Classroom Monitor by Juniper Education and the sale of Silentbloc UK Ltd to polymer engineering company, Dellner Bubenzer Group of Sweden.

The awards are set to take place on Thursday 8 October 2020 at Nottingham Belfry.